Report: WBB Head Coach Wesley Brooks' Utah State Contract
Wesley Brooks, who touts 20 years of experience as an assistant across stints at Ohio State, Michigan, Utah, North Texas, Texas Southern and Robert Morris – as well as three seasons with the men's basketball program at West Virginia as a graduate assistant and director of basketball operations – was formally introduced as the 10th head coach in Utah State women's basketball history on April 2.
His arrival marked a new era for Utah State women's basketball, as both a departure from Kayla Ard's four-year tenure at the helm and a signal of Utah State's aspirations for a program with a tumultuous past. Though the Aggies first fielded a women's basketball team in the early 1970s, participating in the then-newly founded Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women, the program is still somewhat in its infancy. Budget cuts all over the state of Utah cost the Aggies their program for the better part of two decades, from 1987 until a long-awaited revival ahead of the 2003-04 season.
Though Utah State found success in its early days, the years since its return have offered little in the way of tangible progress. Often overlooked and underfunded, the Aggies managed brief spells of quality under head coaches Raegan Peebley and Jerry Finkbeiner, but have enjoyed only six winning records in 21 years. Across five campaigns since Finkbeiner stepped down over health issues ahead of the 2019-20 season, the Aggies went 32-113 and finished with double-digit victories just once (11-19 in 2021-22).
Eager to rebuild the fledgling program, athletic director Diana Sabau sought an energetic and proven leader, and worked to provide the bump in resources needed to attract candidates who would fit that billing. She landed on Brooks and made good on her goal to bolster Utah State's investment in women's basketball, extending a contract offer that included a significant pay raise on Brooks' $185,000 annual salary at Ohio State and further financial improvements for the program. The Aggship has obtained the offer sheet Utah State delivered to Brooks, which can be viewed in full by clicking the attached document:
Per that offer sheet, it's a five-year contract for Brooks, from April 1, 2024, to either March 31, 2029, or "the last game of the team's 2028-29 season." His base salary for the 2024-25 campaign is $250,000, with a yearly $25,000 increase – moving his total compensation to $275,000 in 2025-26, $300,000 in 2026-27, $325,000 in 2027-28 and $350,000 in 2028-29. Brooks' contract also includes incentive payments for specific achievements, with the yearly maximum for incentive payouts set at $307,500. The offer letter did not include those incentive goals, though they typically revolve around postseason success.
That starting salary represents a major increase on Ard's deal with the Aggies, which was worth $215,000 annually.
The financial jump is even larger for the assistant coaching pool. Ard's initial agreement with the university included a $276,000 budget for assistant coaches, while Brooks has been granted $400,000 for his assistant coaches and an additional $150,000 for "operations and administrative positions and one full-time graduate assistant."
As for Brooks' buyout, Utah State would be required to pay 75 percent of his "cumulative remaining salary, which is the pro-rated amount of total compensation due under this offer letter" if it was to terminate this contract for convenience (meaning without cause) before the conclusion of the 2028-29 season. If Brooks terminates the contract for convenience before March 31, 2025, Utah State would be due 80 percent of his cumulative remaining salary. On or after April 1, 2025, that figure dips to 60 percent for the remainder of his tenure.